Tahini

Tahini, the middle-eastern delightful paste, is not only extremely flavoursome and tasty, but is also full of goodness. It is made from ground sesame seeds, and since having sesame in its original form is hard to digest, Tahini is the recommended way to consume sesame while enjoying its nutritional benefits.

Tahini is not only served as a paste, but is also great for cookie baking, homous making, smoothie shaking and more.

So what makes it so healthy?

Tahini is rich in fatty acids, known to help reduce the risk of blood and heart related diseases.

It is also rich in calcium and iron, which makes it great for vegetarians and people who are lactose intolerant. Tahini, especially whole Tahini, is rich in magnesium, zinc, sulphates and more.

Whole tahini implies sesame was ground with its shell, and therefore contains four times more calcium than regular tahini (yummy).

And now, for the recipes!

Tahini Paste

½ cup Tahini paste

1 Glass of water

Juice from ½ squeezed lemon

2 Crushed cloves of garlic

Salt to taste

For decoration

Parsley

A dash of Paprika

Extra virgin olive oil

Method - Mix all ingredients, and gradually add water, while stirring.

The paste should slowly brighten and become smooth

Serve in a deep bowl, powder with some paprika, parsley leaf and toss in a small amount of olive oil

Great as an accompaniment to fish, meat and vegetables

A healthy treat

Halva Cookies (40 Units)

100gr soft butter

½ cup sugar (also great with honey)

1tsp vanilla essence

½ cup (140gr) Tahini

160gr flour

1/2tsp baking powder

1/3 cup chopped almond, for decoration

-heat over to 160c

-mix the butter and sugar, until smooth

-add the vanilla essence and tahini, and stir

-slowly add flour and baking powder, and stir again until paste is soft and slightly oily

(If too runny, add a little flour)

- make fairly small, round shapes and place in a flat oven tray, leaving 3cm gap between each ball.

-place an almond slice on each one, for decoration

-place in the oven and leave for just under 15 minutes

*cookies will harden after leaving the oven, so do not worry if they seem not yet ready.

Leave to cool down before eating!

Halva Smoothie (for 2)

Tahini adds a rich flavour to any fruit smoothie. I find banana and dried dates to be a perfect match to it, but would recommend trying all different variations with added Tahini!

2 Ripe bananas

A Handful of seedless dried dates (best to but the chunky large ones)

2 Spoon Tahini

1.5 cup Almond/ Soy Milk

-Place all ingredients in blender and..... drink up!